The present invention relates generally to sailing rigs and more particularly to a hand-manipulated sailing rig for use with skates, sailboards or like devices to provide a wind-propelled construction.
Hand-held or hand-manipulated sailing rigs are well known and can be conveniently classified into two general types, these being the hand-held, fixed sail and the hand-manipulated marine style sail. The first type, the hand-held or fixed sail, is entirely supported by being hand held by the user. Exemplary of such devices are the wind sails described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,269,133 and 3,924,870 which way of a mast, to a wind-propelled board such as a sailboard. Typical sail rigs of this latter type are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,311,107 and 4,253,209; British Pat. No. 1,551,426 and; German Pat. Nos. 2,912,867 and 2,712,018.
German Pat. No. 2,912,867 and British Pat. No. 1,551,426 each disclose a marine construction which includes a sail attached to a vertically extending mast which is secured to the sailboard. Each construction further includes a bowed boom which is either rigidly or pivotally attached to the mast at its forward end and attached to the trailing edge of the sail at its aft end. These bowed booms encircle the sail and serve as a hand hold for manipulating the sail. The masts of these two constructions are both completely unstayed.
German Pat. No. 2,712,018 discloses a sailboard or windsurfer having a mast attached to the board with a straight pole boom pivoted at its forward end to the mast and connected to the trailing edge or clew of the sail by a tie line at its aft end. A stay extends downwards from the aft end of the boom to the mast base and a pair of hand lines extend on either side of the sail from the boom to the mast to provide hand-held means to control the sailboard.
The above-mentioned hand-held and board mounted sails suffer from certain inherent shortcomings. The hand-held fixed sails of the first-mentioned type do not provide the wind advantage nor the maneuverability of a marine mainsail configuration under various wind conditions, particularly when sailing against the wind. On the other hand, the marine board sails of the second mentioned type also possess certain inherent deficiencies, particularly as to the rigidity and stability of their mast rigging and in respect of their limited ability to sail a course close to an oncoming wind.
The present invention overcomes certain shortcomings encountered with prior hand-held and hand-manipulated sail rigs by providing a sail construction which is highly responsive and maneuverable under varying wind conditions and wind directions. The sail construction of the present invention is adapted to be used as a hand-held, supported mast wind sail, the mast being supported by roller or ice skate or by a riding board such as a sailboard (i.e., a wind-powered surfboard), or a skateboard.
The present invention further provides a sail construction with enhanced mast and boom stability. In addition, the present invention provides greater boom maneuverability, thus providing improved sail set ability under a variety of wind conditions.